


Feel Broken Inside

by OceannanotOceania



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: FYRTFF Scarefest Challenge 2014, M/M, Mild Gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-21
Updated: 2014-10-21
Packaged: 2018-02-22 02:57:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2491904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceannanotOceania/pseuds/OceannanotOceania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael's ears won't stop ringing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Feel Broken Inside

**Author's Note:**

> So uh, this is based loosely(?) on the [prompt](http://fuckyeahrtfanfic.tumblr.com/post/100085815571/): "Death comes to take their soul away.". And, naturally, it's written for the third week of the FYRTFF Scarefest Challenge.

Michael wasn’t sure when it started but, everywhere he went, he heard ringing. It wasn’t bad at first; the ringing he heard was more like the kind you hear after being somewhere loud for an hour or so. Because of that, Michael wasn’t very concerned about it, figuring that he must’ve blown his ears out somewhere and that he was just recovering.

But then, a couple of weeks later, it got louder. Michael was sat at work, in the middle of editing Rage Quit, when he got hit by the ringing. He practically threw his headphones onto the table, leaning forward and pinching at the bridge of his nose. The noise was more than double what it had been recently, and already Michael could feel his head start to ache.

“Michael?” Michael faintly heard Gavin ask.

Michael continued to lean forward, pinching harder at the bridge of his nose.

“Michael?” Gavin repeated, lightly placing his hand on Michael’s shoulder.

Michael turned quickly in his chair, batting away Gavin’s hand. Michael was panting, the ringing in his ears subsiding slightly. He looked up at Gavin, concern apparent in the man’s eyes, before looking around the office and seeing that everyone else had their eyes trained on Michael.

“I-” Michael shook his head, muttering a curse. “Sorry. I don’t what just happened.”

“You need to take a break, Michael?” Geoff asked.

“No, no, I’m,” Michael shook his head again. “I’m fine.”

Geoff’s expression showed that he was anything but convinced. “Alright then. Take a break if you need to man, I can’t afford to lose you.”

Michael let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, I will.”

~

Gavin’s eyes flickered over to Michael. “You sure you’re okay, boi?”

Michael kept his eyes trained on the road, gnawing at his lip. After what happened at the office a week ago, the ringing hadn’t subsided. At all. In fact, somehow, it’d gotten even worse.

Michael thought back to this morning, trying to remember how many ibuprofen he had taken so that he knew how much he could take later today. Though frankly, the medicine didn’t seem to be that fucking effective: even with the three or four he’d taken this morning, his head was still pounding like a bitch, all because of this fucking ringing.

Michael shook his head, glancing over to Gavin. “Ye-yeah, I’m fine.”

Gavin frowned. “I saw how many pills you took this morning, Michael. That tells me that you’re anything but okay.”

Michael slammed his hands on the wheel. “I’m fine, alright?”

Michael’s face fell after he yelled the words. He looked back over to Gavin, seeing the mixture of fear and concern in Gavin’s eyes. Michael briefly glanced back to the road, making sure he was in his lane, before reaching a hand over to grab Gavin’s. He wrapped his fingers around Gavin’s, lightly squeezing the man’s hand.

“Look, I’m fine, okay?” Michael mumbled. “I just have a bit of a headache, but it’s really not anything to worry about.”

Gavin frowned. “Alright. I’m still keeping my eye on you, alright? If you have another breakdown, we’re going back home, alright?”

Michael quietly snickered. “Yeah, alright.”

\---

It’d been a bit over a month, and that fucking ringing had yet to go away. Michael bit at his lip, eyes flickering back to the screen. Achievement Hunter was in the midst of filming a batch of Let’s Plays that would be coming out in a week or so, and Michael couldn’t help feeling some amount of guilt. The man could hardly get into whatever they were playing, the ringing so loud in his ears that his attention ended up being turned to that rather than whatever game they were playing. Michael ended up being a lot quieter than usual while playing, and laughed a lot less than he used to.

Geoff let out a small groan after they finished recording a Let’s Play for GTA V. He paused a moment before getting up, and walking over to Michael.

“Can we talk?” Geoff asked.

Michael took off his headphones, eyes widening slightly when he saw Geoff. “Oh, uh, yeah.”

Michael cringed slightly as he felt another pang from the ringing. He got up slowly, following Geoff to the front of the office.

“Mind telling me what’s been going on with you?” Geoff asked bluntly.

“I-” Michael started.

“No, no, don’t give me that ‘it’s nothing’ bullshit, because I already that it’s not nothing, Michael.” Geoff cut in. “You’re nothing like how you used to be in Let’s Plays, and have you seen the shit that you’ve made recently? They hardly can be called Rage Quits!”

Geoff let out a breath. “Look, I’m not trying to give you massive shit about how you’ve sucked ass or whatever, I’m really worried about you Michael. We have enough Rage Quits, Let’s Plays, and all that shit for this week, so please, take a break if you need to, okay?”

Michael bit at his lip. “Geoff, I’m fine.”

Geoff rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna have to take your word for that, then. But know that I won’t hesitate to step in if this gets any worse, got it?”

Michael nodded. Geoff walked forward to pat Michael on the back.

“We’ll stop recording stuff for today so that we can hand off shit for editing, alright?”

Michael let out a small sigh of relief before following Geoff back to the main room.

Gavin ran over to Michael. “Michael, are you-”

Michael fell to his knees, hands moving up to cover his ears as the ringing grew even louder. He grit his teeth, trying to remember how to even breath.

Michael felt someone grab at his left shoulder, glancing over to see Gavin looking down at him, eyes wide. Michael let out a breath, slowly letting his hands falls away from his ears.

Geoff was stood on Michael’s right. “Is there any way in hell you can drive home?”

“Uh,” Michael bit at his lip. The ringing had barely subsided, only enough for Michael to think somewhat coherently. “I might?”

Geoff glanced around the room, letting out a groan. “At times like this, Gavin can’t fucking,” Geoff shook his head, looking back to Michael. “Look, I really want you to go back home if you’re gonna keep having issues, but I don’t want you to get into a fucking accident.”

“Geoff, I’m sure I can drive.” Michael said.

Geoff let out a breath. “You better drive fucking carefully, okay? And stop if you think you might have one of these breakdowns again.”

Michael noded.

“Can I head home with him, Geoff?” Gavin asked.

“Seeing as how I want someone to keep an eye on him, yeah.” Geoff said. “I already told Michael that we’re just editing for the next few hours, so we should be okay without you guys.”

Gavin nodded, holding out a hand to Michael. The ringing began to grow again, but Michael tried to ignore it as he grabbed Gavin’s hand, slowly getting up.

“I’ll see you assholes later.” Geoff said, concern in his expression.

Michael nodded, a small smile on his face. He intertwined his fingers with Gavin’s as the pair walked out.

~

“You sure we shouldn’t just get take-out?” Gavin asked, biting at his lip as Michael stood with a recipe in front of him, trying to decode the words on the paper.

Michael shook his head, trying to decode the words that slowly turned into a gigantic blur. “Yeah, fuck this.” He walked over to a drawer on the right side of the counter, pulling it out, revealing a gigantic stack of takeout menus. “Pick something, I don’t really care what.”

Gavin walked over, sifting through the drawer as Michael avoided the impulse to crumple up this piece of shit recipe and throw it in the trash.

“Chinese?” Gavin asked.

Michael shook his head, turning to Gavin. “Yeah, sure. Just my usual.”

Gavin slowly nodded before grabbing the menu and walking back into the living room. Michael briefly glanced at Gavin as the man walked back into the living room. Michael’s eyes flickered back down to the recipe.

Oh.

Michael blinked a few times. He could actually read the fucking words now. Michael slowly shook his head. The ringing had subsided somewhat, anyways.

Hesitantly, Michael walked just out of the kitchen, stepping towards the couch Gavin was sat at as he made their order. Michael bit his lip, bringing a hand to his head as he was hit with another wave of that incessant ringing.

Michael retreated back into the kitchen, letting out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding when he got back in front of the sink. Michael glanced back to the living room.

Wait, was Gavin causing the ringing?

Michael shook his head. Even if, somehow, this was Gavin’s doing, what the fuck could he be doing that’d cause it in the first place?

Michael glanced over to the knife block to his right. If Gavin couldn’t stop that incessant ringing, then maybe...

Michael shook his head. No, no, there was no way he could do that, he cared about Gavin too much to do that.

Michael looked back to the knife block. But, then again... Michael bit at his lip, walking over to the knife block, and grabbing the smallest knife.

“Michael?” Gavin called, standing just outside the kitchen.

Michael shoved the knife into his right pocket, his free hand reaching up to grab at his head. He slowly shook his head, backing away when he noticed Gavin walking closer to him.

“S’up Gavin?” Michael asked, voice strained.

“We should probably head out soon, yeah?” Gavin said. “This place is kinda far from here.

Michael glanced up to Gavin. He nodded. “Yeah, right. Yeah, we should head out.”

Gavin nodded, concern in his eyes.

~

“We there yet?” Gavin asked.

Michael cringed slightly, Gavin’s question sounding much louder than it probably was. “Fucking Christ, Gavin. I’m hungry too, but I’m sure we can wait a bit. He glanced over to Gavin. “Look, we’re probably a couple of minutes away.”

Gavin nodded.

Michael glanced around the empty road. The streetlights around here were barely working, all flickering as they cast yellow light onto the ground below. Michael bit at his lip, briefly glancing over to Gavin.

“Oh, shit,” Michael said, wondering how fake his voice sounded. “I need to check something real quick.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow. “Alright.”

Michael glanced around, making sure the road was still clear, before pulling onto the side of the road. Michael unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Gav, mind helping me look at something?”

Gavin glanced over at Michael. “Ye-yeah. You alright Michael?”

“Y-yeah.” Michael replied.

Gavin raised an eyebrow.

Michael looked away then, and got out of the car. He walked over to Gavin’s side, holding the door open for the man. Michael’s breathing slowed then, his eyes widening as the ringing got louder than it's ever been.

“Michael?” Gavin put a hand on Michael’s shoulder.

Michael scowled, turning and grabbing at Gavin’s hair before pulling the knife out of his pocket, placing it to Gavin’s throat.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Gavin’s eyes widened, his gaze flickering down to the knife. “Michael? What are you-”

“No, no, shut up,” Michael said. “Shut the fuck up, Gavin.”

Gavin’s expression fell. “Mi-Michael?”

Michael bit at his lip, pausing before pressing the blade harder, and slitting Gavin’s throat.

Michael closed his eyes, flinching slightly as he felt blood hit his face. He threw Gavin back onto the concrete.

Michael stood panting, grip tight on the knife. His mouth remained open slightly, his gaze flickering around the sidewalk. Michael could hear something that he hadn’t been able to hear for God knows how long now: silence. A smile appeared on the man’s face.

“Mi-Michael?” Gavin spluttered, a few drops of blood landing onto the concrete in front of him.

Michael glanced down at Gavin.

“It stopped. The ringing, it, it stopped.” He let out a small chuckle. “It fucking stopped!”

Michael bit at his lip, glancing away from Gavin as the man glanced down at the pool of blood in his lap. “Gav, boi, I’m sorry. I just,” Michael slowly shook his head, letting out another small chuckle. “It fucking stopped.”

Gavin coughed, blood spilling onto his shirt. He wheezed, appearing to try and say something.

Gavin lay back onto the concrete, something like resignation on his face.

Michael looked down at Gavin, the adrenaline from earlier finally fading. Hesitantly, Michael walked over to Gavin, seeing that the man’s chest wasn’t rising and falling anymore. He paused, kneeling down. He ran his fingers through Gavin’s hair before pressing his lips to Gavin’s forehead.

Michael let out a breath. “I, I really am sorry, Gav.”

Michael got up, starting to walk away from Gavin, when he noticed smoke in the corner of his eye. Michael turned to look back at Gavin. A billow of smoke blew in a circle beside Gavin’s feet.

Michael furrowed his brow. There hadn’t been smoke before. Hell, neither of them should have had something that was flammable.

The smoke grew thicker, turning from a darkish gray to something black and as thick as pea soup. Then shit got weirder.

At first it seemed like something that was part of the smoke, but slowly something on the concrete formed into a dark black cloth. The object slowly grew taller, and Michael realized that it was someone, _something_ , wearing a black cloak. A scythe materialized into a thin, white hand. Michael promptly realized the hand was bone.

Michael’s eyes widened. Wait, it can’t be...

Death?

The figure turned then, and Michael’s face fell. Michael was face-to-face with Death, and all of the cliche art of the figure rang true.

Death had no face, so Michael was staring at an empty skull. Upon closer inspection, Michael saw that Death’s bones actually were almost the same color as sand, and so chipped and scratched that Michael felt like he was looking at something from the beginning of time. Death’s cloak was in no better shape: the cloth was frayed and torn, certain patches so discolored that they looked more gray than anything.

Michael’s eyes flickered over to Death. His blood ran cold. Though it shouldn’t have been possible, Michael felt like the figure was... smirking at him, of all things. However, the sensation quickly faded as Death turned to Gavin.

Death paused for a moment before holding out a hand. Death slowly moved its hand, seeming like it was trying to wave the motionless Gavin over. Gavin’s lips parted, and something that was a bright bluish-white billowed out of Gavin’s mouth.

Michael's eyes were wide, his feet frozen where he stood. The thing that was flowing out of Gavin's mouth converged onto Death's palm, forming into a sphere as Death continued to wave its fingers.

Death paused when nothing came out of Gavin's mouth, its fingers still idly moving even though the sphere hovering above his palm seemed to be a complete sphere now. Then, Death slowly opened his mouth, dumping whatever had come out of Gavin's mouth back like some sort pill. Even though it had no muscles, it even seemed like Death's throat moved when it swallowed, the sphere disappearing once it had passed the figure's lips.

Then, Michael could hear it again: a faint ringing in his ears, barely loud enough to annoy him. Michael's eyes widened.

No. No, it can't be back, he had just fucking stopped it-

Death looked over to Michael, and immediately Michael felt as if Death was grinning, no, _leering_ at him, as if Michael was some sort of toy.

The ringing kept getting louder and louder, and Michael tore his gaze away from Death, moving his hands to cover his ears as that ringing grew more intense.

Michael isn't sure when it had happened- it could've been seconds later, minutes, hell, maybe hours- but the ringing seemed to fade, transitioning from incoherent noise to faint mumbling. Then, all Michael could hear was two words that rang loud and clear:

_You're next._

Michael looked over to Death, his eyes wide. Death's grin seemed to have grown even wider, and in the blink of an eye it lunged at Michael.

Michael isn't sure if any sound actually came out of his mouth, but he screamed. He screamed as loud as he possibly could, not even stopping when his voice was so raw that no sound would be able to come out.

 

**Author's Note:**

> In case you didn't know, I have a [Tumblr](http://oceannanotoceania.tumblr.com/). I post mirrors of the fics from here, and just some small shit there too, so feel to follow me and drop prompts for me and shit.


End file.
